Paper clip



Patented Dec. 25, 1934 l sm- P T NT OFFICE I {PAPER-CLIP a r V 'Henry Lanlr'e nan, Verona; N. J., assignor to V NoestingPifi Ticket-Co; Inc., Mount Vernon,

N. Y., a corporation of New .lf'ork V i Y A I Application mama, i933, Serial No. 6 99,333

w a 1 olaiim (o1'".- 24-2 1) Thisinvention relates to improvements in paper clips and particularly to clips ,formed by bending a .length of spring wire into a plurality of loops, two of the loops being" spaced a com-r 5 paratively shortv distance apart and: lyingv i n nestedlrelation inthe same plane, the said loops being. adapted to be spread apart-laterally of the clip, thereby to Ireceive and grip two or more sheets of papertherebetvveen. This application 110v is a continuation i'npart of my application SerialNo. 663,141yfi1ed March28, 1933. x 7 An object of thisinvention is to providea paper clip madeof a length ofspring wire bent to form elongated outer and inner oblong members ar- 1 5 ranged-in nested and operative relation with respect to each other, one end portionof the clip consisting of a single'loop of rectangular form and the opposite end portion consisting of a double loop and being .V.-shapedin lengthwise direction. 1

; Anotherobject of this invention is to provide a spring wire clip havingtwo spaced V-shaped loops at one end, the said end providing a wedge action and being. adapted to be more easily ,apr,

generally known in the art as Gem f clips and having U-shaped loops. 3 r r Anotherobject of thisinvention is, to provide a spring wire clip having a-rectangular end por-,

tion, the two ends of the wireterminating in a plane lying substantially in abutment with the said recta'ngular endso as to provide maximum gripping surface and preventttheends of the spring wire from digging into, the papers to which the clip is attached a,

1 With the above and other. objects in view, the invention will biz-hereinafter moreparticularly described and the formation and arrangement more sheets of paper having the clip shown in Figure 1 applied thereto.

Figures 4, 5, 6 and '7 are plan views of modified clips.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a modification of the clip shown in Figure 4.

plied to twoor more papers than the type of clip ilar to the loop 10 in the clip 1.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a modification of the clip shown in Figure 5. A i

In theillustrated embodiment of the inven:- tion, Figures 1 to 3; inclusive, show a spring wire clip 1, which is bent from asingle piece of wire 5 ofsuitable diameter and stiffness. The clip consists of an outer clamping member 2, and aninner clamping member 3, lying within the outer member in such a manner that the wires touch. The outer and inner members are united by a mi straight cross-bar 4, adapted to straddle the edge of a number of papers towhich the clip may be applied. Theouter clamping member 2 consists of two spaced parallel legs 5 and 6, united by a V-shaped loop 7, the leg 5 being a connection be! tween the cross-bar 4 and loop '7. The inner clamping member 3 consists of two spaced parallel legs 8 and 9, united by a V-shaped loop 10. The free end 11 of the outer clamping member 2, andthe free end 12 of the inner clamping member 3 terminate in a plane lying-substantially in abutment withthe straight cross-bar or end 4. As shown in Figures 1 and,2,the cross-bar 4 and the loops '7 and 10, and the four legs v5, 6, 8 and 9 of the clip 1, lie in a common plane when not in use. As shown in Figure 3, the clip 1 is applied totwo or more sheets of paper 13 by springing the inner member 3 away from the outer member; 2 laterally of the clip, so thatthe V-shaped loop 7 will engage the top of the uppermost sheet while. the \L-shapedloop lO will engage the underside of the bottom sheet, thus clamping the sheets 13 between the loops and 10.; The cross-bar 4 lies closely against and straddles the edge 14 of thepapers 13 to which the clip is applied and 35.

there is no chance for accidental displacement of theclip. r r A l A r 1 As" shown in Figure 4, there has beenprovided a modified paper clip 15 similar to the clip 1, but having an outer loop bent inwardly alt- 16 in a lengthwise direction and forming two prongs or fingers 1'7, 18, extending longitudinally outwardly from the outer clamping member 19. The inner clamping member 20 has a V-shaped loop 21 sim- It will be noted that the two prongs or fingers 17, 18, serve as guides for the V-shaped end 21 and cause the clip 15 to move in a straight line as directed by the force exerted by the user against the rectangular end or handle 22.

As shown in Figure 5, there has been provided a modified clip 23 similar to the clips 1 and 15, but having a straight cross-bar 24 on the outer clamping member 25. The inner clamping member 26 has a V-shaped loop 27 similar to the loop 1 21 on the clip 15. It will be noted that the,

straight cross-bar 24 has a straight end wall facing outwardly and is also adapted to exert a steadying effect on the motion of the V-shaped end 27 so as to cause the clip 23 to move ,in a straight line as directed by the force exerted by the user against the rectangular end or handle 28.

It is to be noted that better results may be obtained in guiding the clips .15, and 23 in a straight line by slightly bending the prongs or fingers 1'? and 18 of the clip 15 or the end 24,;of the clip 23 in a direction laterally of said clips as shown in Figures 8 and 9. It is also to be noted that the free endslll, 12 of theclip 15. terminate in a plane lying in abutment with the. vouterclamping member 19 and an inner clamprectangular end 22, and that the free ends. 11 12 of the clip 23 terminate in aplanelying .in

abutment with the straight 'end 28'. It is also to be noted that the side elevations of the clips 15 and 23 he respectively in a Figure 2. I 1 a As shown in Figure'fi, there has been provided a 'modified paper clip 29 similar to the clip 15 shown in Figure 4, but having an outer loop 30 bent into V-shape and lying inwardly in lengthwise direction. The V-shaped loop 30 forms two prongs 31, 32, extending longitudinally outwardly from the outer clamping member 33. The inner clamping member 34 has a V-shaped loop 35 similar to the loop 21 in the clip 15. It will be noted that the two prongs-or fingers 31, 32, serve as guides for the V-shaped end 35 and cause the clip 29 to move in a straight line as directed by the force exerted by the user against the straight end or handle 36. The straight end 36'serves as a handle by means or which the clip may be easily manipulated into and out of engagement with papers with which the clip maybe usedi The V-shaped inner loop 35'provide's a wedge action and a centering guide and causes easy slippage over the papers to be clipped. The free ends'll and 12 terminate in a plane lying substantially in abutment with the straight end 36, and cannot dig in and scratch the paper as is usually the case when removing paper clips of the'YGem type having short legs which do not extend to the extreme end of the -1 1 new A paper 'clip of the character described will fastenseveral sheets of paperfirmly together, and when inoperative position on a number of sheets, will prevent other sheets from slipping between the sheets clamped thereby.

a As shown in- Figure '1, there has been provided amod'ified paper'clip 3'? similar to the clip 29 shown in Figure 6, but having an outer loop, 38

single plane as shown in bent into V-shape and lying outwardly in lengthwise'direction. The inner clamping member 39 has a V-shaped loop 40 similar to the loop 35. in the clip 29. The V-shaped loop 40 forms two be applied. The handle 43 connects the inner clamping member 39 to the outer clamping member 44.

As shown in, Figure 8, the modified clip 15 is formed i irom a continuous wire bent to form an ing member 20 both of U formation, the crossbar of the outer clamping member being deflected longitudinally inwardly at 16 to form a loop portion having two fingers 17 and 18'. The inner clamping member 20 has a V-shaped formation 21 at the end adjacent the loop portion, the apex of the V-shaped formation 21 extending longitudinally outwardly in a direction opposite to the inwardly deflected p portion on the outer clamping member, said clamping members being connected by a handle or straight crossbar 22 at the end of the clip'opposite the deflected end cross-bar, the ends of the wire 11', 12', terminating at points which are in substantial alignment with the cross-bar 22, the fingers 17, 18, of the outer'clampin'g member being slightly bent in a direction laterally of the clip While I have described and illustrated a number of embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that various changes and modifications can-be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

Ha'.ving thus described my invention, I claim: A paper clip consisting of a continuous spring wire'bent to form outer and inner clamping'members of U formation, the cross-bar of the outer clamping member being deflected longitudinally inwardly to form a loop portion having two fingers, the inner clamping member having a V- shaped formation at the end adjacent the loop portion, the apex ofthe V-shaped formation extending-longitudinally outwardly in a direction opposite to the inwardly deflected loop portion on the outer clamping member, the said clamping members being connected" by a straight crossbar at the end of the clip opposite the deflected end cross-bar, the two ends of the wire terminating at points which are in substantial alignment with the straight cross-bar, the said fingers of saidouterclamping member being slightly bent in a directionlaterally of said clip.

' HENRY G. LANKENAU. 

